My son’s father in-law, (Dr.) Roger Ciccarelli of Brighton, recently supported my six year long (and so far unsuccessful) letter writing campaign in an email to the NY State Dept. of Transportation, by pleading for a traffic light at the intersection of Thornell Road and NY State Rt. 96.

Following is the email reply Dr, Ciccarelli received today from David C Goehning , Regional Transportation Systems Operator. It is almost identical to posted letters I’ve received from the DOT in the past that have resulted in absolutely no action after months of study.

The DOT obviously has complete and final authority on the matter, despite my earlier letters to State government representatives and leaders (including then Gov.Pataki) that have gone unanswered or with assurances that we simply do not need a a traffic signal there using the convoluted reasoning that it would cause more accidents that it would prevent. Even my petition signed by more tan 100 area home owners has not made an impression.

Thus, from my experience with their lack of interest in our plight, I’m not optimistic that anything will be done by the DOT to alleviate the continuing traffic hazard and delays brought on by the lack of a traffic signal at that critical intersection. I pray a fatal accident does not occur to convince them to finally accede to our neighborhood’s legitimate request:

“Dear Mr Ciccarelli, We wanted to wait until the construction in the Bushnell’s Basin area was complete so that traffic volume data collection would not be skewed by differing traffic patterns. We plan to initiate the study in September. It normally takes three or four months from then to complete. If all goes well, we would complete it by the end of the year. Sincerely, David C. Goehring Regional Transportation Systems OperatorNew York State Department of Transportation1530 Jefferson RdRochester, NY 14623(585) 272-3481 “

Leave a Reply

moved to Pittsford as a teenager and attended Pittsford-Mendon High School. Her greatest passion is as a lover of and advocate for the arts and music. Donna attended Rhode Island School of Design and earned an MFA from R.I.T. She’s a free-lance art director, advertising photographer and copywriter. Her love of narrative and film has led her to direct and produce short films.

Donna developed her awareness of and concern for environmental issues after being
exposed to the chemicals in artist materials in art schools in the US and Canada which
made her ill for a time. Healthy today, she finds pleasure in nature, writing, and music.
She enjoys Pittsford for its picturesque locations, wildlife, and community involvement.

was born in Rochester, lived here for a while until his dad was transferred to Connecticut ("Thanks, Xerox."). Then a few years later they came back to Fairport ("Thanks again, Xerox."), but Bill went to Pittsford schools. He moved over to Pittsford in 1979. He worked a bunch of jobs, played in bands, went back to MCC and then U of R for a Bachelor's degree in the early 90's. Shortly after that, he moved to NYC with his wife, Laura, where he worked at Ogilvy & Mather and Christie's doing tech support. They moved out to Northern Virginia during the Internet boom, hoping to get rich quick, but missed that boat. They moved back to Pittsford in 2001, along with two boys. Bill still plays guitar with the Chinchillas, the Squeaky Chair Jazz band, and the Steve Greene Trio occasionally.

"Though all communities and areas get a certain reputation (deserved or not), there is a good quality of life here, and the bulk of the people I have met here and places I have been to reflect that," Bill says. "My reason for wanting to blog about the town is at least twofold -- to vent my views and continue with writing, but also to force myself to engage in the environment in which I live. Too many people complain there is nothing to do or see, but they never actually get out and look. I don't want to be like that."